Mongo's Extended Preview of Planet of Daemons

PREVIEW PLUS WRITER AND ARTIST COMMENTARY

Planet of Daemons by Kevin GunstoneÂ and illustrated by Paul MooreÂ is a wild ride into mysticism. Â I feel mysticism or magic is the logical next phase for the non-comic obsessed public. Â We have been slowly moved from what is easily believed to the mystic realm. Â I am fan of magic and the mystic arts so I jumped all over the chance to preview this title. Â I was more than happy I took the chance. Â This is a story full of potential and art, colors and even lettering only adds to the enjoyment. Â I truly look forward to the story’s continuation in the subsequent issues. Â As this was a preview, I sought out the creative team to get a better feel of the titles inception and the direction they intended. Â I am still amazed when the creatorsÂ behave in such a gracious way. Â Both Mr. Gunstone and Mr. Moore were more than obliging at my requests, giving weÂ fans a trove of goodies about this title.

The following is a brief description of the book provided by the creative team:

“The Qliphoth is the dark shadow of the Sepiroth, the Tree of Life – which you may know from the Kabbalah. It has its basis in Jewish mysticism and it plays host to mankind’s negative thoughts, traits, and impulses. This occult realm is set over ten quite different spheres or worlds each ruled by daemon princes. All these elements make for a cool comic book setting, both in terms of the ideas it represents and great visual potential.”

“The first story is set both in the Qliphoth and 17th century New England. When we join the story Amos is a magistrate in charge of rounding up those he considers guilty of being under the influence of ‘the devil. We find that New England is suffering from an infestation of plague, which he believes is of a supernatural origin. His zeal in finding those accused of the crimes of witchcraft stretches back to his childhood when a similar outbreak took place. An outbreak that was only eradicated when the daemons responsible, called Plague and Pestilence, were violently forced back through an occult gateway by his father and the other townsfolk.”

“Amos’s father warned him to be ever vigilant for he feared these daemons would one day return and having seen the devastation that took place he has made it his life’s work to ensure that never happens. This makes him appear quite ruthless in how he deals with those he suspects of such ‘crimes’. However, despite Amos’s background and Puritan upbringing he isn’t overly religious. He’s a driven character, but more by what he has seen and experienced both on Earth and the Qliphoth than his Puritan beliefs.”

“I’ve wanted to write a story similar to Planet of Daemons for some time. Years ago, when I was at University, I studied Related Arts but we were allowed to take modules on other courses and I took one on medieval history, because that’s the kind of fun person I am. As part of the course we studied the witchcraft trials of that period. I found the ideas fascinating and had one simple question: what if the threat was real and the Witch-Hunters and Inquisitors were right? Finally, I’m getting to write it!”

I was lucky enough to receive an inside peek at some of the labors the creative team went through to give us this book. Â Kevin provided a few pages of the first issue below:

This talented group went well beyond the norm and artist Paul MooreÂ provided some progress pieces to add to our anticipation:

Finally to my delight PaulÂ gave our Crusaders and Capes a first look at the concept art for issue #2. Â I can’t heap enough praise on this group. Â I am still awestruck when such talented individuals act in such a humbleÂ way. Â This shows how much creator owned books think of their fans! Â Well done gents, Cheers!